Beer: Ratings & Reviews

When poured into a pint glass is poured a dark copper red color with a very small thin white head that disappeared pretty fast. Leaves little to no lacing. The aroma is nice, malty, almost got a roasted malt smell from it, caramel, all together an above average smell. Taste, hmmm, wow not what I was expecting. I think it's pretty good. Caramel, malts, some darker fruit taste? I actually enjoy the taste of this one. It's drinkable, I can easily do this one and if I had another I would drink it right after but I don't. Good stuff. I've only had a couple other Scotch Ales and that was before I was really into beer so I don't remember what they were like. After this one I will have to give some more a try as I enjoy it. Overall I like this one, not something I would drink every single day but I would like to pick this one up from time to time if available.

Received this in a wonderful mix of Midwest brews lately, I had been waiting to try it and last night I went ahead and busted out a bunch of them and had myself a little mini tasting. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 04/23/2009.

The pour was very nice, a rich dark caramel brown in color, with a dark and hazy appearance to it. A light tan head of foam rose up from the bottom of the glass and reached a height of nearly two inches before settling down with some nice side glass lacing as well. Rich aroma, lots of caramel, earthy tones abound here with a chewy almost grass like texture to it. As it warms some very nice and notable hop notes star to take effect, piney with a gritty flavor to them, but they are quickly brushed aside by a more then ample malt bill. Smooth, even feel on this one with a big medium body to it. I had no issue at all with putting it down and in fact I would have looked for another almost immediately.

Overall a very solid ale here and very nice example of the style. I have always had good luck with their offerings and this one was no exception.

Pours a nice dark copper color with good initial head and some nice lacing. Excellent scent, deep with a semi-malt aroma and a great peat overtone to it. Great taste, nice and peaty, truly Scotch, with a nice malt feel and a good hoppy finish. It goes down quite nicely, a great Scottish style ale.

12oz bottle poured into pint glass. Pours dark brownish red, not as dark as most scotch ales, with very little head. Smell is sweet and of roasted malts. Taste is very malt heavy with a scotch backbone that balances well with the malt. Medium bodied mouthfeel. Decent drinkability but its sweetness is a little cloying. Overall a decent scotch ale but not mind blowing. Nowhere close to Founders Dirty Bastard.

12oz. brown bottle, purchased at Party Source, poured into an imperial pint.

A: Pours dark brown with good clarity, though a bit light for the style. Short head forms fizzy and dies relatively fast. Not much lacing.

S: Sweet and thick malts. Musty and husky, though that seems to be a touch of adjunct in the back like corn, but I'm pretty sure they don't use adjuncts. No alcohol or peaty/woodsy/smoky/etc. aromas.

T/M: Very sweet and caramelly. Much to sweet to the point of cloying. Maybe some light molasses or burnt sugars. So damn sweet. Again, no alcohol whatsoever and none of the peaty or woodsy flavors, not even anything earthy. I guess the peat isn't required but it's nearly always at least suggested in the flavor profile. Body feels a bit heavy but it lacks carbonation and in turn it's almost flat and watery.

D: Wouldn't be too hard to drink if it wasn't so damn sweet. But it is and isn't extremely flavorful or to style. If it was labeled a Scottish, it'd be closer.

Nose is of creamy, sweet caramel maltiness with some mild hints of amaretto, earthiness and buttered popcorn. Smells good.

Taste is a bit on the sweet side, but there are some toffee, hazelnut and peat flavors in there to make it feel more Scotch Ale-esque. Alcohol has a mild bite, as do some earthy hops. I'd say this is an above average SA and seem to be emptying my glass at a rapid pace.

Poured in Abita pint glass. One finger high light brown head. Well carbonated. Color of coca cola with red highlights. Aroma is very malty, syrupy, very ripe bananas and sweet potato pancakes. Starts with lots of malt, dates, some rum flavor. A slight sourness from beginning to end. Finish and aftertaste are full of dates, rum, syrup and cinnamon. Seems a bit on the thin side for the style, expected a little more alcohol.

S: Toasty malt & caramel in small doses & a touch of oakyness, plus a bit of booze

T: Toasty malt, grainyness & caramel up front. Slight apricot fruittyness comes through as this warms, along with dryness. A touch of persimmons in the finish, along with a sliver of oakyness, & more caramel, a kiss of booze & a gnat's fart of smokeyness (not enough)

MF: Medium bodied with low carbonation

Drinks easy enough, but just not on style enough to get too excited about. more malt back bone & some smokeyness, please! This would do in a jam to be sure

Sample at the brewpub. This beer is a dark brownish-amber color with a thin light beige head that recedes slowly. Thin rings of lace on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, peat malt and some dark fruit. Medium, smooth body with a somewhat chewy mouthfeel. Flavors of grainy malt, caramel and mild spices accompany a lightly hoppy undertone. The finish is lightly smoked and malty, with a lightly bitter hops aftertaste. Above average overall.

It is a dark opaque beer with a little bit of a red hue. It has an off-white head and average lace. It smells very sweet and a little bit spicy which I thought was pleasant but odd. It has a piney and wood like taste to it. There is mild bitterness to the roasted malt flavoring. It has a little bit of a fizzy and earthy mouthfeel.

T: The initial taste was candy like. It is also quite malty. There were fruit, sweet and caramel nuances noted. This is an interesting beer, but seemed a bit more candy like than any scotch style ale I've had before.

Schlafly always exceeds my expectations, but I'm not sure if they did so, this time around. The beer pours a solid brown hue with some ruby highlights (looks a bit purple?). An unstable head forms above the turbid liquid and struggles to hang on, but laces well. Aromas of sugary malts and grape esters give an unsettling mindset going further. Hints of nuts, chocolate, and smokiness struggle to balance out the confection notes. As expected, the taste is sugary sweet with rich esters of grapes, plumbs, and currants. A nutty, malty backbone exists, but not in the strength or creaminess that is needed for such sweetness. A mild smoky-phenolic note rides just behing the sweetness and tries to balance the beer with little avail. Body is actually quite light despite such sweetness, and is lifted by an abundance of carbonation that leaves the beer a bit fizzy and with a carbonic bite. Finishes sweet, smoky, and grape-ey. It's ok, but one of the weaker beers that I've had from the brewery.

Amber colored pour with an offwhite head. Smell is peaty and malty as to be expected. Mild tart peaty flavor and not too strong for a characteristic I don't care for. Decent for the style, but doesn't differentiate itself much from others I've had like it. Just ok.

Appearance: Pours a dark amber color with an ochre off-white that retains well and leaves some splashes of lace

Smell: Dark fruit (fig and prune), brown sugar and an earthy tone

Taste: Opens with a fruity caramel blend that holds is sweetness through mid-palate; after the swallow, the flavor retreats rather than advances, although the caramel lingers and is joined at the very end, by some earthy peat

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Not a bad beer, but just doesn't match up to the better Wee Heavies in terms of flavor complexity or body